About the Carmelite Nuns here in Almonte

The Carmelites arrived in Almonte on November 5, 2024, from Pennsylvania, at the invitation of Archbishop Damphousse. There are presently eleven Sisters that live at 297 Strathburn Street, in a large house that they turned into a monastery. They are a cloistered community of Nuns that belongs to the larger Order of Discalced Carmelites founded by St. Teresa of Avila, the same Order that St. Thérèse of Lisieux "The Little Flower" belonged to. The charism of the Discalced Carmelites "is to pray and sacrifice for the needs of the world, very specially for the Church, the Holy Father, for all bishops, priests and for all of the People of God." Since the Sisters are cloistered they do not leave the monastery grounds. They are a witness to us of the importance of living a deep prayer life and of striving to unite oneself to God's Will. They have answered God's call to leave all things and to follow Him.

A few other characteristics of the Carmelites are:

• praying the Divine Office holds an important place in their daily schedule
• they abstain from eating meat (they do eat fish, dairy & eggs)
• they like to sew, embroider, make altar linens, scapulars, do gardening and make maple syrup

They are delighted to be in Canada and are so very grateful for the warm welcome!

From Mother Stella-Marie of Jesus, o.c.d.

---

Dear Parishioners, as you can see in the words above from Mother Stella-Marie, the Carmelites in Almonte are a community of Discalced Carmelite nuns. They live a life dedicated to prayer, silence, and intercession for the Church, the local Archdiocese, and the world. What a remarkable blessing to the Parish and Archdiocese this is! Their constant prayer is a gift that will bear fruit that will last.

Their presence wonderfully recalls the reality that Almonte is no stranger to religious consecrated life; as the red brick building next to the parish church was formerly a Convent, showing the town has long been familiar with such dedicated ways of life.

Their Chaplain is our Associate Pastor, Fr. Shroff.